You CAN DO It!

Register here by Wednesday, November 23, 2016. 

Purpose:  This 1 hour PD will focus on exploring WIDA's new Can Do Descriptors, Key Uses Edition.  Can Do Descriptors can help educators see what English Learners (ELs) can do with language in different situations, and in different content areas, throughout their journey toward English language proficiency. It provides examples of content language use by students in Kindergarten through Grade 12, in the domains of Listening, Speaking, Reading, and Writing, at each level of proficiency, from Level 1, Entering, through Level 6, Reaching.  All educators who currently plan lessons for EL students will benefit from this training. WIDA developed the Key Uses Edition of the Can Do Descriptors in response to challenging state college and career readiness standards and the subsequent greater language demands placed on curriculum.  This edition represents a broad range of what language learners can do with language to meaningfully engage in and achieve challenging content standards.

This presentation will be presented specifically for your grade level clusters.

Elmwood: K, 1, 2–3

Shaw: 4–5, 6–8

Jr/Sr HS: 6-8, 9–12 

Participants will be asked to focus on one of their existing or upcoming lessons and choose:

-One WIDA level

-One Language Domain

-One Key Use

and provide a differentiated task of a lesson based on these choices.

Unpacking the new MA STE Frameworks – 3 part Series

The Millbury Public Schools is partnering with WPI to offer teachers in grades 4-8 a 3 – part Unpacking the new MA STE Frameworks series.  Participants should attend all of the sessions.

Wednesday, October 26^th – Unpacking the new MA STE Frameworks (Core Ideas and Practices)

• The 3 dimensions of learning and teaching science and engineering
• Unpacking the new MA STE Framework’s practices
• Resources for teaching the new MA STE Standards
• Identify high priority standards
• Classroom activities

Wednesday, November 30^th – Standard-Based Activities

• Design challenge
• Grade level standard-based activities
• Resources for teaching the new MA STE Standards

Wednesday, December 14^th – Standard-Based Activities

• Design challenge
• Grade level standard-based activities
• Resources for teaching the new MA STE Standards

Email Lizz Trahan at etrahan@millburyschools.org to register by Friday, October 7^th.

EXCEL Training

Presented by:  Eddie Earnest

Workshop Description:

Do you have difficulty with Excel?  This workshop is for you!  This workshop will review the basic excel functions and formatting.  In addition, learn how to export data from Aspen to Excel. 

Also, if there is an example of something specific you would like covered please email Jenn with your registration.

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Audience:       All K-12 Staff

 When:       Monday, September 26th  - 3:30 p.m. – 5 p.m.

Location:         Elmwood Computer Lab

Cost:               Free

Contact Jenn Bellville at jbellville@millburyschools.org to register.

Self-Regulation of Heart and Mind using Mindfulness and the emWave

Date: Thursday, September 22^nd and Thursday, September 29^th (Participants need to attend BOTH days.)

Time:  2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

Location: Shaw Media Center

Maximum Participants: 10

Please email Jenn Bellville, jbellville@millburyschools.org by Friday, September 9^th to register.

In order to better serve our families and students, we need to take care of ourselves.  As part of this PD, participants will learn about the benefits of relaxation and effect stress management strategies.  In addition, educators will learn quick and easy mindfulness techniques to use at home and/or in the classroom.

In addition, participants will be given the chance to try the emWave Pro, a unique training system that is available in all School Psychologists’ offices across the district.  The emWave objectively monitors heart rhythms and displays the physiological level of coherence — an optimal state in which the heart, mind and emotions are operating in sync and in balance, and the immune, hormonal and nervous systems function in a state of harmonious coordination.  emWave Pro will help students (and staff!) create a coherent state through coherence techniques, interactive exercises and games, building resilience, increasing energy, and promoting focus, mental clarity and emotional balance.  

5. Teaching ELA and Math Students to Use Their Brains in Similar Ways

            In this article in Kappan, former ELA teacher Nancy Gardner and math teacher Nicole Smith argue that the Common Core standards form a natural bridge between the seemingly disparate subject areas of English language arts and math. The similarities:

            • Grit – In both subjects, the new standards emphasize perseverance – sticking with a task, especially a difficult one. In ELA, this manifests itself in getting students to read more-difficult texts. “We want all students to have a productive struggle with texts,” say Gardner and Smith. “Sometimes this means more time devoted to shorter passages” – for example, spending two weeks delving into just two chapters of Frankenstein. In math, Common Core ramps up the importance of solving word problems with real-world relevance. “Teaching perseverance depends heavily on the questioning skills of teachers,” say the authors. “Teachers need to understand the how and why of good questions so they can help students dig deeply and avoid superficial responses.”

            • Supporting claims – In both ELA and math, Common Core standards involve using claims, reasons, and evidence to back up arguments. In ELA, this means returning again and again to the text for actual evidence, versus the previous emphasis on relating texts to one’s own personal experiences and opinions. In math, students are asked to show the steps of solving a problem or completing a proof. “This means students start to articulate why a given answer must be true – or how a logical conclusion can be reached,” say Gardner and Smith. “In both ELA and math, the focus shifts from finding the what answer to how to find the best answer and why that answer is best. The conversation may even continue to include whether there is a best answer.”

            • Precision – In ELA, this includes close attention to grammar and word choice in students’ writing and in the texts they read – for example, why did the author use the word catastrophe rather thanproblem? In math, students are called upon to know what level of precision is necessary for a given task – for example, is the best unit of measurement centimeters or millimeters? – and debating with classmates about the most efficient and elegant way to solve a problem. “The importance of precision goes beyond being right,” say the authors, “to a deeper understanding of how right or how effective something is or isn’t.”

            • Structure analysis – In ELA, why did the author use particular images or rhyme schemes? Why did the writer choose this extended metaphor? Why was the argument constructed this way? In math, students need to learn how to step back and look at the big picture as they analyze mathematical structure, looking for similarities, differences, and patterns. “This helps students make formulas their own and reach past the superficial level of memorizing a formula,” say Gardner and Smith.

            • Using tools strategically – Common Core standards ask students to use vocabulary and grammar with skill and careful intent. This is essential given the way students are bombarded with words and ideas from the Internet and other sources, and the challenging nature of tasks they will face in the years ahead.

“Math and ELA Meet at the Common Core” by Nancy Gardner and Nicole Smith in Phi Delta Kappan, March 2016 (Vol. 97, #6, p. 53-56), www.kappanmagazine.org; Gardner can be reached atngardner@teachingquality.org.